


Flipped and Fallen

by Lightest_Shadow



Category: Swapfell (AU), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: And it is Swapfell if you didn't notice, Blood and Gore, Do not be intimated by the number of characters, Gen, Reader-Insert, Swapfell, dual colored soul, fellswap, it's not as many as it looks, not in detail until Waterfall but still, potential crush, there's a lot going on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2018-10-30 03:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 13,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10867662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightest_Shadow/pseuds/Lightest_Shadow
Summary: You are a YouTuber/Spelunker and had been given a challenge. Little do you know just how much of a challenge it is.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea in my mind for a reader insert that didn't focus on romance, so I hope you enjoy.

Spelunking was something you really liked to do. You weren't sure you'd consider yourself an expert, but you knew enough to do pretty well. You also liked to record and share your adventures.

You were looking for a slight challenge for years before someone finally sent you an anonymous message that actually piqued your interest.

"Hello, (Y/Username)!  
I love your videos and am always looking forward to new ones, no matter how short.  
I couldn't help but notice you said in your last update that videos had been slower because you wanted something new and challenging. Why not try and explore Mount Ebott? A lot of people are scared to get close because of a total of 6 disappearances over 20 years, but with your skill, you'll probably be fine."

You looked up the information and found out that not only was what the Anon said true, but it also had an old hiking trail that had a cave near it.

You prepped for a pretty long exploration. A decent amount of food, a sleeping bag, some portable chargers and battery packs, and a few things of first aid. And, of course, your camera, phone, and flashlight. You then set off.

You had a lot of people tell you this was a bad idea, but you assured them you knew what you were doing. It was quite a hike before finding your destination.

You were honestly beyond glad that the cave was real. You went up to the cave entrance, pulled out your camera, and started your recording.

"Hey everyone! I'm now at an area that's treated like it'll kill one instantly. I am inside Mount Ebott! From the entrance, there doesn't seem to be much, who knows what I'll find, though. Night vision's on and I am not gonna leave the camera on me any longer."

Knowing how to do this, you are then quiet for the most part, scanning the walls of the cave. You stopped for a bit, eyeing something.

"This is the third time I've seen this odd symbol. It may have had great meaning in the past, but a lot of Mount Ebott's history is filled with legends of monsters and magic." You laugh a bit. "Who believes those?"

Back walking you find a strange crack above that allows sunlight to get in, but it's late so there wasn't a lot of light. Below, there was a deep hole. "Huh, I don't know why, but something about this hole seems to draw me." You say to your future audience. You go down on all fours to crawl closer to the hole and peer down.

The ground crumbles around the edge faster than you anticipated, and you fall.


	2. The Meeting

You wake up in pain. That, ultimately, was your indicator that you were alive.

You shift as you try to remember what happened. At some point when you were falling you flipped over and landed on your back.

Specifically, you landed on your backpack. You groan from both pain and frustration. It was just your luck for that, really.

Getting up, you fish out your flashlight before anything else, and turn it on. The area you fell into seemed to be empty, save for the small amount of plant life that managed to grow in here.

"Nature's something else..." you mumble to yourself. Eventually, you happen on your camera.

You groan again. It seems this sound was gonna come out a lot. Broken. Even if it would still record, the quality would be terrible. You pull out your phone.

Battery's dead, and you backup is in your bag.

"Might as well see what all had survived." You say, having gotten into the habit of talking to yourself.

Your sleeping bag and extra clothes were both what saved your life and guarded most of your goods. Some of the food was smashed, and a battery backup was destroyed, but luckily everything else was in working order.

You close up the bag and look around the cavern again after hooking the non-busted backup to your phone.

"That looks like a path, I guess I gotta go that way." You say.

There wasn't a lot of walking before you saw the same symbol that was in the upper parts of the cave. You couldn't help but start recording with your phone.

"Ok, guys, as you saw, I fell down a hole. Unfortunately, it broke my camera, which means this video'll be a lot shorter than I'd've liked. But, do you see this?" You make sure both your phone's camera and your flashlight are on the symbol. "Even down here it shows. I think I see some pillars over there, too. I found an ancient area, guys. More later. I may miss a few things to record. Sorry." You stop recording and put your phone away after that.

You get closer to the pillars and notice a little ways away something white.

You go up to it to see an old and tattered plush. A 3 foot old and tattered plush of some sort of animal. You bring the phone out again to take a picture.

You open your voice recorder and get going.

"Hey guys, so I found this plush. It's like three feet tall if it was to stand and in pretty impressive condition. I may decide to take it out with me if I could just identify the creature it's suppo-"

"Be quiet!" You hear in a hushed tone. You look at the plush. It was now sitting upright and looked to be glaring at you.

Did the plush just talk? No, you decide. That doesn't make sense. Instead, you let out a "Hello?"

"Said be quiet!" It came from the plush, who was now snarling.

"Why?" You ask in a hushed tone. Not 5 seconds after you asked, you heard footsteps and the plush went floppy and limp.

"I swear if there's a Whimsum tearing things up..." a deep voice spoke as a strange goat-dragon walked into view. He stopped upon seeing you.

"Oh, a human! My name is Asgore. Come, I'll give you the basics in the next room." With that, he left as quickly as he came.

The plush got up. "He friendly???" The toy said with really broken English. "Nevr friendly! You're different. He liek you!"

You can't stand it. "Could you please talk normally?"

It sighs. "Fine, but I'll prob have some broken English still. He's never nice, so someting about you is different from other humans."

Before you can make a comment, it continues. "Hoi! I'm Temmie! You may need my help to survive down here."


	3. The Ruins

After a bit of talking and informing your future audience of what's going on, you and Temmie ultimately decide the best course of action is for you to put him into your backpack and carry him with you.

 

You moved forward, and the monster, Asgore, was still waiting.

"If you're gonna take that long the entire time, you may not even make it to the end of The Ruins." He says, earning a flinch from you. He turns to a few buttons on the floor. "What you see here is the first of many puzzles. They were originally crafted as traps for humans, but ended up becoming worse than that." He steps on specific ones and flips a switch. "I will expect you to figure out the rest on your own, for I am not gonna hold your hand through the area." He entered the next room with blinding speed.

You followed, only to find that he's continued without you. "So, when he said he wasn't going to hold my hand... When he said I was going to figure out the rest on my own... He meant he was going to abandon me..."

"Well, u not a child, right?" Temmie says from in your bag, somehow both loud and quiet. "U don't wear stripes, so..." You weren't a child, but what did that have to do with whether you'd wear stripes or not? You decide to not ask and instead keep walking.

There were spikes blocking the way out. Big, intimidating spikes. One false move could hurt pretty badly, or worse. You were at a loss for a bit, but you saw the switches and a sign fairly quickly.

The writing on the sign was faded and worn, a clear indicator that it had been there for a long time. Looking closely, you read it to your best abilities.

"Avoid the path and your doom is certain." Well, that was a pretty straight forward message. You had noticed the path, which branched a couple times to specific switches. Simple enough. You flip those switches and the spikes recede. You walk towards them to move on, but the second you feet got off the path to try and step over the spikes, they got back up, almost skewering you.

You check the ground carefully. The path seemed to have a break in it a step or two big before the spike area. The path then broke again after the spikes for a step or two before starting again.

"Do I... Have to take a large step _onto_ where the spikes come out to prevent them _from_ coming out?"

Temmie replies to your to-self question. "Most likely, Tem never had a good time with these spikes. Too small."

"Avoid the path and your doom is certain." You repeat to yourself. It seems if at any point you have a foot not on the path, it'll bring the spikes back up. That... wasn't a good thing, really. You didn't even care how it did that, you just needed to get across. You go back to the switches you need to, flipping them. You take a pretty deep breath before stretching one leg out and stepping over the gap onto the spike's holes. You flinch as you lift your other leg and rush it to the first.

Nothing.

You sigh a sigh of relief, but are quick to basically jump from where the spikes are to the next part of the path. You missed slightly, causing the spikes to shoot up, startling you. You weren't in danger, though. Your heart was pounding and you wanted a rest.

"You can't stop now! If something comes along while you're restin, you're dead!" Temmie said, head poking out of the bag. You knew he was right though, and continued on.

In front of you in the next room is simply a training dummy.

"Hey, maybe we could practice fight. Go ahead, pretend the dummy's a monster. What do?" Temmie says. You walk up to the dummy, letting your imagination run wild. You make it into the monster you had in your nightmares for years when you were young. But you were pretty sure Temmie didn't mean for you to do what you did to that monster when you finally stopped the nightmares.

You did it anyway, you hugged it and whispered "I know you're not actually bad." You felt good, but Temmie's reply made it clear what he thought.

"What was that? Tem mean, good, you good, but you'll die if you do that!"

You pout. He may be right but, what if he's not? Sure, these monsters may end up scarier and bigger than the one in your childhood nightmares, but was it really that bad to assume they could be misunderstood?

You move on to see a strange bug-like monster. Said monster was quick to fly at you. You dodge and notice something interesting when you looked closely at it. You could only describe it as a stat box.

"Whimsun. 5 ATK, 3 DFN. Tries to play strong by diving enemies. LV 3."

None of this really made a lot of sense to you, but you knew for sure that it needed something. Encouragement, maybe? That's exactly what you give it.

"Hey, buddy, you're doing great. Don't let others get you down!"

It gave you an odd look before slowly going away. Temmie was just purely confused. "How?" He doesn't finish the sentence.

The rest of the walk seems to consist of this; You prevent getting skewered by spikes and manage to prevent from getting killed by monsters that you come across without causing them harm. After stopping at a mouse hole, under a strange sparkle that you seem to get re-energized by when you touch them, you decide to ask Temmie about the boxes.

"You see them?" He asked as the initial reply. You shift a bit before nodding. "Even El Vee?" You nod again, not realizing that LV was pronounced like the letters and not Level or something.

He sighs and explains to you what LV is, what it means, how every monster seems to have it, and that higher numbers are worse.

"What's the highest LV?" You ask, scared of the question, but feeling a need to know.

"About 84 or so." He says. You swallow a lump down. You eventually continue walking, getting a bit injured and realizing that candy you picked up along the way had healing properties. It made you kinda regret your kind nature. You should've grabbed more than one.

After so much walking, you finally made it to the end of The Ruins.

The end was a small cottage. You touched another sparkle and entered the building. The scent of Chai Tea filled the air.

"You... actually made it." Asgore said as he entered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, I'm glad there's people reading this. I haven't had this much enjoyment writing in years. Please leave a comment if you enjoy.


	4. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are at Home, but things get difficult.

You enter the house, as per Asgore's request. He had explained to you that he had done all of that because you had to be able to survive in The Ruins. He showed you a room in the house.

The setup was clearly meant for a child, but you didn't mind. You were honestly exhausted at this point and needed to lie down.

Before you could, sound emitted from your bag.

"Tem thinks you need to get out of here." Temmie had said, poking his head out of the bag. You rolled your eyes. Of course you had to get out, that was a no brainer. You were just so tired.

You decided a bit of sleep couldn't possibly hurt. Temmie complains as you close your eyes.

You're dream had you floating around in a dark void of sorts. It was a little odd for you, seeing as you usually had a location for your dreams. You then hear a voice.

"You must keep going. You don't belong here. No one belongs here."

You turn around, a little confused and a lot frantic. The voice seems to be repeating the same things over and over.

Before you had a chance to reply, a child appeared in your face shouting "Wake up!"

You're startled awake and jump out of the bed. You smell the scent of cinnamon and look to the side table. On it are a plate of cinnamon cookies and a cup of tea.

From your knowledge of how things work and how monsters act, you decide to not take the tea, despite your growing thirst. You pull a bottle out of your bag, waking Temmie.

"Hey! Wha-" he seemed to have a different voice for a bit before going back. "What doing?"

"Sorry, Temmie. I needed a drink and ziplock bag before I got ready to go." You explain, getting a small mile from Temmie before he crawls back into the backpack.

Once everything's packed you go over to the main room, and then to what you guess is a dining room.

"Hello, young one." Asgore says smiling. He seems in a pretty cheery mood, which you hope is a good thing for your needs. "Did you want something?"

You take a deep breath before getting to the point. "I want to head back home."

Asgore's face goes almost dark. "Forget about you life up there!" He says, almost demanding. His demeanor softens slightly after barking that and he continues. "This," he motions to the rest of the house "This is your home now."

You were taken aback by that change. Maybe this man was a bit unhinged. But you needed to get back. "I'm sorry, but I have to go!"

He glares at you in reply. "You wouldn't survive out there with your 1 LV and 0 EXP. you will survive here, however. You're staying."

You realized there was a mix of things he was doing. On one hand, he was trying to protect you. On the other hand, he was treating you like a disobedient child, telling you you couldn't go to a friend's house. It, quite frankly, enraged you.

"I'm a fully grown human adult!" You say matter-of-factly. "I can take care of myself. I'm leaving!"

He stands up, reminding you how large he actually is, and walks off.

You follow close behind, unsure of what he could possibly be planning. He went downstairs into what you assumed was a basement. At the end of an awkwardly long hallway was a door. A large, foreboding door.

"This is they way out, to the rest of the Underground." He says before turning around. "However, I do not tell you this so you may leave. I tell you this knowing you won't."

You get visibly confused. "I'm going to prevent anyone from ever opening this door again." He clarifies. "Humans never survive out there."

You end up making an audible gasp of shock before standing your ground. "I'm an adult! I can handle it."

"Then prove it." He says simply, causing everything to shift in the atmosphere. A small heart-shaped object came out. Temmie told you it was your soul, and that having two colors in it was odd. Asgore created fireballs.

There was no getting around it. This was the start of a fight.

You weren't having that. "No, I'm not going to fight you!" You say.

He scoffs, throwing a fireball. "And that's exactly why you won't survive out there."

He throws a few more fireballs at you, in too rapid of succession for you to say another word. You dodge them well enough, but they get close enough for you to know just how hot the flames are.

No matter what you tried, he didn't seem to let up. He wouldn't listen to you, but you weren't gonna listen to him, either.

But then a fireball actually grazed you. It singed your shirt and caused a small burn on your arm. You were surprised, but not nearly as much as when you looked back towards Asgore.

For what you saw was a large wall of fire. You had no hopes of dodging.

Engulfed in flames, the pain was more than unbearable. You weren't sure exactly what to make of almost feeling like you heard him say "I'm sorry" through the roar of fire.

Then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I'm without wifi. Upside: I can actually focus on the updates. Downside: actually updating may be scarce.


	5. Home Attempt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to try again

You seem to be floating in nothingness. You aren't sure what to make of it really, but a voice seems to call out to you.

"Stay determined." It seemed to say. You could almost feel a jolt of determination flow through you.

And then you come to reality standing outside of the cottage, watching Asgore go in.

You hesitate, but follow. When he says the exact same thing to you as before, you wonder what exactly happened and check the time on your phone.

The time didn't seem to move. It matched when you first touched the sparkle.

You enter the open room and examine it a bit more.

Like you already knew, the room was clearly meant for a child. Or maybe children, just not at the same time if more than one. There was a verity of toys, and shoes of many sizes.

You open the wardrobe to see tons of children's clothes, and have to laugh softly. They all had stripes of some sort on them. It was the thought of "do I want to wear stripes or stripes?" That was making you laugh.

But then you noticed another theme: every shirt had the same main color. Red.

Everything from red and black, red and white, two shades of red, basically if it didn't clash with red it was the second stripe color. There also seemed to be two shirts missing.

You are exhausted at this point and try to sleep.

And you once again were floating in nothingness for your dream.

You didn't bother calling out this time when the voice started.

Along with the "You must keep going" and "No one belongs here" from before there was "Why are you back?" And "Stop messing around"

Just like before, you woke with a startle to tea and cinnamon cookies.

You decide this time to pack the cookies up, careful not to wake Temmie.

You grab the phone, thankful for it still having a charge, and start recording.

"Hey," You whisper to your future audience. "so I seem to have gone back in time somehow. No one seems aware of it but me. I'll update more once I sneak out."

You move the bag enough to wake Temmie. "We're getting out of here." You whisper to him "Just stay silent."

You silently open the door to the bedroom and, using the techniques you've learned over the past few years, managed to make it downstairs.

You start traveling carefully and quietly, as to not stir suspicion. Temmie whispered to you how you were almost there.

Once the door was in sight, you heard a frightening roar from upstairs.

You didn't know what to do, but fortunately both Temmie and some mysterious voice both said "run". And run you did. Straight towards the door.

You manage to push the door open and slip through right before flames would've hit you. But he's bigger and stronger than you, he can easily go after you.

You were confused when he only opened the door a crack.

"Get back inside! It's dangerous out there!" He practically commanded, brining back the irritation.

"And how is it safer in there?" You ask before softening your voice. "You... threw fire at me, didn't you?"

There was silence before what almost sounded like a pained sigh.

"I guess I blew my final chance, huh? I shouldn't..." he takes another breath "I shouldn't have treated you like a child."

You peeked through the crack to see Asgore sobbing. "I just wanted to save at least one human... just one..."

You almost reach out to tap him, only stopping in case he tries to pull you in forcibly. "You really did just want me safe, didn't you?"

He nods and, unaware you can see him now, says "that's all I ever wanted for the humans. It just gets more dangerous from here on out."

This time you really do reach through and pat him. It's just one quick pat, but it's enough for him to look you at you again.

He didn't try to grab you. In fact, he brushed your hand away. This is when you spoke.

"I'll be careful, I promise." You say to him with full confidence. He smiles in reply.

"Be good, alright?" He says before you walk off.

You notice one of the sparkles in front of you and touch it.

You are filled with the DETERMINATION to continue being KIND.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. Sorry this took a while, I got busy with other things. Hopefully this won't be too much of a habit, but it might happen again regardless.
> 
> Please leave a comment if you enjoy!


	6. Snowy Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start in Snowdin Forest

The first thing you notice when you step out is it's freezing cold. Even with your thicker sweater you're cold. You are quick to search your bag, disrupting Temmie.

As you pull out your coat and put your blanket at the top, just in case, Temmie speaks.

"Tem didn't think sneaking out was possible. Will you be alright?"

You were about to answer when you got overwhelmed with two things.

One was an unrelenting sadness. You had realized that you made a promise you weren't sure you could keep, and left a man you simply wanted you safe all alone. Tears were threatening to form in your eyes and probably would have if it wasn't for the second feeling you had.

A sense of paranoia. A feeling like you were being watched. You pick Temmie back up and put him back in you bag, planning on sprinting away.

You don't get too many steps before you get too a flimsy looking bridge, causing you to stop.

You examine the bridge a bit before hearing a voice.

"so, what brings a human here?"

You turn around so quick that you almost lose your footing. Heck, you're pretty sure you should've lost your footing and fell, but you didn't.

Behind you was a skeleton. Looked around 6 feet or so tall. You couldn't be too sure, though, cause he was slouching. He seemed to be wearing a false leather jacket with some former fluff on the hood. The jacket was a little too small for him. He also seemed to have only sharp teeth, with two having gold replacements.

He shrugs on getting a look at you before holding out his hand. "name's papyrus."

You go to reach for his hand, only to feel a slight shuffle from Temmie in your bag, and pull away.

You get a strange look from the skeleton before he shrugs and puts his hand back in his pocket.

"it doesn't really matter. if you stay in the open, you'll die anyway."

That, of course, put you into a nervous mode again. You knew it was dangerous just from the time in there. In the midst of you panic you nearly fell again. This time you know you should of. Looking down, you see something blue wrapped around your SOUL, and an abyss.

"calm down, i wasn't planning on leaving you to fend for yourself. at least, not right away." Papyrus says, moving his hand slightly and somehow repositioning you.

Before you could say anything he continued. "my bro's coming. might wanna get you hidden."

And, once again, before you can say anything, you're being lifted into the air {presumably by Papyrus somehow} and thrown across the bridge and into a bush. "Don't move, don speak." Temmie whispers from your bag. You do as instructed and listen.

The first thing you hear is footsteps. They're light, but almost purposely made audible, like whatever was moving had that much confidence. When they stop, you hear a new voice. It's on the loud, demanding, and dangerous side, but also a bit playful.

"PAPYRUS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"  
"sorry, sir," he replies with a different tone than he used previously. Almost like an obedient child or something. "i thought i saw something so i checked it out. it was just a bunny."  
"STUPID MUTT! WE'RE LOOKING FOR HUMANS, REMEMBER?"  
"honestly, my lord, if i saw a human, i would've delighted it to you."

You almost let out a gasp, but your fear was so great it was hard to do so. You had to focus on not increasing breathing.

"WELL, JUST DON'T HESITATE TO TELL ME IF YOU DO!" After that you hear nothing. Then Papyrus is suddenly in front of you, causing a yelp.

"alright, he's gone, you can come out."

You were hesitant. Something felt... off to you. "Why are you helping me?"

He looks at you quizzical for a bit before laughing. This just makes you more confused before he speaks again.

"if that human brain of yours has thought maybe i'll keep helping you, you're outta luck." He pulled out a cigarette as he continued. "nah, i wanna see how far you'll make it from now on. just didn't want you surprise attacked by my lord."

You blink and he's gone. Temmie wriggles his head out of the bag. "Monsters badder from here out."

Boy, that was really something you didn't want to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyy, I'm really sorry that I'm inconsistent. I just hope you guys enjoy anyway. Please leave a comment if you do :>


	7. The Snow Keeps Fallin' and It Won't Stop Fallin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Almost to Snowdin

You did question the fact this small sentry station had heating and electricity, but you weren't going to complain. If it meant being warm for the moment and charging your phone and battery backups, it was all good.

As your phone was charging you decided it wouldn't be fair to keep your future viewers in the dark, so you set it to record and began whispering.

"Hey guys. I'm sure a lot of you aren't gonna believe this anymore, but I'm still gonna say what's going on.

I got out of the first area, but not after being nearly held captive by a goat-like monster. He didn't mean harm I think. Apparently I'm not the first human to find their way down here.

Umm, if you look outside you'll see it's somehow snowing..." you pause your statement for a bit to bring your phone up to show outside. "snowing despite it being underground.

I'm sorry if I'm hard to hear. Temmie said the monsters in this area have really good hearing. I'm also wearing my blanket like a cape cause he said it would help to wear it. I'll be on my way out after some rest. I'll keep you guys posted."

You turn off your phone and glance around, ultimately deciding under a desk in the sentry station was the best place to sleep. It didn't seem to be touched often, either, judging by the off-white dust over there.

You curl up in the area and get some sleep, only to wake in the middle of the night.

Thinking it may be the best time to go, you get up and head to the door, only for Temmie to tackle your leg and make you fall.

You spin around to face your traveling companion as you ask him "What was that for?"

"Too cold for Tem Frien!" Temmie shouts "Freeze! Freeze!"

You look out the window to see an anthropomorphic rabbit collapse in the snow.

Something in you is screaming to help them, but Temmie jumps on you and somehow holds you down.

When you look up again, barely listening to Temmie's cries of "too cold!!!" you see the rabbit's body seemingly disintegrating. Turning into a fine, off-white powder.

It takes you a few seconds before you realize what that means. Trying to keep it together you ask Temmie "Is... is that normal?"

Temmie looks at you almost confused as to why you asked before going "YaYa, monster ded, then dust."

You felt sick to your stomach. You weren't really sure if you could get back to sleep, but going outside definitely wasn't an option.

You awake despite not knowing when you fell back asleep to Temmie nudging you.

"Move! Morning! Move!" Right, you have a goal.

You get up and take a long, tedious walk, listening to all of Temmie's instructions. Doing so seemed to keep you defense from both a lot of dog monsters and deadly traps. Not to say you got out completely unscathed.

You had quite a bit of cuts and bruises before seeing another save spark and tapping it. Injuries were gone in an instant and you were refreshed.

Which was probably a good thing seeing as not five minutes of walking later you bump into someone. Someone pretty short. You kinda fall over them.

Before you can apologize you hear a strangely familiar voice.

"OW, HEY WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU DAMN..." he pauses when you turn and get up. He then starts to laugh giddily.

He was a skeleton and... very short. You'd have to guess under 5 feet given the fact his heels were giving him extra height. How the heck did he manage to stay standing with those on after you tripped over him? He seemed to be wearing lighter-weight armor and a crop-top shirt underneath it. You could guess that from the fact it was just bare bone in the segments the armor didn't cover. Heck, he was even wearing shorts. How wasn't he freezing. It seemed like there was a lot of dark purple and grey. He had a handkerchief of some sort wrapped around his neck. He also had some small cracks around his right eye socket and sharp, serrated fangs. His eye sockets had large, purple, star-shaped... lights? in them.

"EXCUSE ME, HUMAN, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?" His voice shouting at you snapped you back. He was glaring.

You kinda shrug a bit as you stand back up. "No, not really."

Rage appeared on his face as he drags you down to eye level.

"LOOK, BE GLAD THAT THE MUTT CONVINCED ME TO LET OUR FIGHT BE FAIR. OTHERWISE I'D'VE DUSTED YOU RIGHT HERE."

You were honestly surprised on how scared you were of him. He's the size of a child and yet he intimidates.

He let go and turned away. "THE TOWN'S THIS WAY. I EXPECT YOU TO GET READY, HUMAN. I DON'T HOLD BACK, AFTER ALL." He laughs and, in a blink, is already gone.

"Temmie" you say, prompting the plush Caline to come out.

"YaYa?" He asked in his usual way of saying yes.

"What are the odds of me easily surviving against a small skeleton in armor?"

Temmie tilts his head before almost jumping. "In Armor?!?!? No gud! Royal guardsman!"

You give him a look. "Yeah, but weren't the dogs?"

"Dogs easy. Not skeles."

You sigh in reply to that. Should've known Asgore was right on it getting worse from here on out. You tighten the make-shift cape of your blanket and continue forward, towards the town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been reading all of the comments you guys have been making and I wanna say thank you! I am beyond glad people actually enjoy this story.
> 
> Also important to note: my interpretation of the area and characters will most likely be different than all of yours. Keep it noted.


	8. Snowdin Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first bit of exploring Snowdin

The town had a strange mix of cozy and unnerving. The sign was simple and straightforward, only saying Snowdin Town.

The town had a decent amount of houses, a shop, an inn, a restaurant {at least, you're sure that's what it is}, and a... librarby? Probably a mistake, seeing as the second r looked scratched at.

You wanted to put off the impending fight as much as possible, so you decided to look around more closely.

First area you decided to check out was the shop. It was ran by a rabbit that part of you wanted to describe as pretty. She was thin with her body type and her fur was a pinkish color.

"Hey, haven't seen you before." She said "welcome to the Snowdin Shop."

As you're looking around, you decide to ask a few questions.

"So... what exactly can one do in this town?" You decide to start with for whatever reason.

There's a bit of a pause, you guess from thought or a shrug, and you turn you phone's camera on, recording.

"If you came here hoping for fun, I'm sorry to disappoint you, kid." She replies a little sullenly. "There's food at Muffet's, a place to learn more in the Library, and a place to rest if you don't have a house with the Inn."

Well, that didn't help you too much. You decide to try again with another question.

"Well, what's the history of the town here?"

You can practically feel the look of confusion that the rabbit gets before she replies.

"Jeez, are they not teaching history in the city anymore? Here's the short version: furry monsters decided the cold area was best for them. We stayed here. Some non-furred monsters decided to move in later, but the population remains 95% furry."

Well, that didn't give you too much, either. You go for another question.

"What's life like here?" You ask as you grab some delicious looking sweets and a granola bar.

  
The tone of the rabbit changed as she answered. "Oh, kid. I'm sorry, but Snowdin's not much different than anywhere else in the underground: somewhat crowded, the ever-looming air of death, a lot of hardships, way too many Royal Guards. If you came here for peace, then I'm afraid you're out of luck."

The mention of the Royal Guards and what was said earlier prompted one more question from you.

"So, what's the deal with the skeletons, then?" You turn around as you ask.

If it could be possible, you could guarantee the rabbit would've gone pale. But, after some hesitation, she answered.

"Hopefully, if you've met them, you've gotten on their good side. They're brothers, supposedly, and boy, do they support each other greatly.

The taller one, Papyrus, I believe, acts like an obedient dog. He'll do whatever the shorter one says, no hesitation. But he's also hard to read past the basics.

A quick stat check tells one that he has low stats, only 10s across the main 3, and an LV of only 30. For an adult, that's on the lower end, which means he doesn't fight often. But according to my sister, who runs the Inn if you want to ask her yourself, he finds a sick pleasure in prolonging the suffering of his opponents. He also likely has a lot of magic to him. Otherwise he would've died long ago."

You could feel yourself wanting to go pale. Before you dare ask more, the shopkeeper is saying more anyway.

"The shorter one, Sans, is a whole other story. His stats are extremely high, as well as his LV. However, he doesn't go looking for trouble anymore than his brother. Trouble just finds him.

Of course, that should be expected considering he's second-in-command in The Royal Guard. Why the second most powerful non-boss monster was assigned here I'll never know.

But I do know this: not only is he strong, he's incredibly fast. There's no possible way someone could both dodge and defend against him. I wouldn't doubt if every kill he's gotten was almost effortless. Never seen him use real magic, though."

You felt as if you were gonna be sick. And you had a pretty good feeling it showed.

"Oh, dear. I didn't think that would upset you that much. Sensitive monsters are pretty rare nowadays." The shopkeeper says compassionately. "I'll let you have this free." She says, putting half your purchase to the side. You thank her, pay, and leave.

You can't decide wether you want more information or rest. What you have learned equates to "you're screwed" and "death is such commonplace that we can talk about it casually".

You ultimately decide you'd rather get sleep and head into the Inn.

The owner is a larger, more chubby rabbit. She was straight to the point with things. You paid for the stay and collapsed in the bed.

You woke without a dream again, to really nothing noteworthy. After eating the Cinnamon Bunny you stepped out of the Inn and decided it was time to face the inevitable.


	9. Attempted Sans Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler: you die a lot and visit the librarby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a better day to update than Fanfiction writer awareness day! Please leave a comment :>

You continue walking East. Temmie informed you to not waste any more food because monster food could heal wounds, and if you're fast enough, you could eat in the middle of battle.

You hit a certain point to see Papyrus. Steeling yourself, you walk over to him to ask him for a tip of some sort.

"heh, a tip? i mean, i wouldn't fight him in the first place." He says with obvious amusement in his voice. "but, since your asking, try to aim for a counterattack of some sort every successful dodge."

You nod and start to walk off when he grabs your shoulder a bit hard.

"however, human, know this: if you kill my bro, you won't make it out of the underground."

With that he let go and teleported, leaving you more nervous than before.

You go a bit further and there stood Sans, second-in-command to The Royal Guard. He seemed slightly annoyed, but also excited.

"YOU TOOK YOUR TIME DIDN'T YOU? ARE YOU READY?"

You put down the bag, not wanting Temmie in danger, and nodded, figuring you're as ready as you would be.

"ALRIGHT, I'LL BE FAIR AND LET YOU HAVE THE FIRST CALL."

You decide to get in a slight defensive stance, but instead of attacking, you try to talk it out.

"S-so I was thinking maybe we don't need to be violent?" The question mark at the end was even there. Sans rolled his eyes.

"SORRY, BUT THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN."

Before you had a chance to react, a sharp bone was thrust into your chest, instantly piercing your heart. You could see your SOUL flaking as you heard Sans' voice. You couldn't make out the words, however, and collapsed.

You ended up in that black blankness floating again. After a bit of a determined thought on making it through this, you awoke in front of the shop by the save point.

You check your bag real quick only for Temmie to tell you "items gone. No save."

That's right, you travel back in time whenever you die. It really was like playing a video game. With that in mind, you go into the shop, knowing what you were getting ahead of time.

As you're grabbing the stuff, you decide to ask a question you did before and see if anything's different or not.

"So, what's this town's history?"

"Jeez, are they not teaching history in the city anymore? Here's the short version: furry monsters decided the cold area was best for them. We stayed here. Some non-furred monsters decided to move in later, but the population remains 95% furry."

Exact same speech as before, word for word. You buy your things and make sure to save this time.

You keep walking and meet with Papyrus again. After all, you've played games, sometimes some change.

"a tip? i mean, i wouldn't fight him in the first place. but, since your asking, try to aim for a counterattack of some sort every successful dodge."

It was a bit different, but nothing too noteworthy. You decide you'd check again next time. If you have to again, that is.

You show up to Sans, already taking off the bag and putting it down. You begin the battle before Sans can speak.

"OH, YOU'RE EAGER! LET'S SEE HOW WELL YOU DO!"

You just stood there until you saw him move. You now knew his first attack so when he lunged you could side-step. You tried to reason with him again.

"Sans I believe is what people said your name was? We can work this out, plea-" you were cut off by a bone scrapping your throat open. Sans could be heard audibly disgusted by the blood spurting out as you choked.

You woke in front of the inn and shop again, and felt almost frustrated at this. You decide this time to stop by the library.

The inside of the library wasn't impressive. It was quite plain and small. It was also completely empty of other living things, save for the librarian.

You go over to the shelves silently and pick out a few books before sitting down, opening to random passages in each.

The first book had this written in it:  
"Monsters turn to dust upon death. Anyone who looks around can see that easy. If a family member or a mate gathers the dust, they may then choose to either keep it forever or spread it across something or somewhere the dusted monster liked.  
Not like it really matters with the latter though. What does anyone even like anymore?"

That last part made you legitimately sad. Monsters didn't find joy in anything anymore? That seemed... terrible. You go to the next book.

"Monster's bodies are made of magic mainly, but research has shown humans are made of water. As a result, their matter-based bodies are much stronger than monsters'. But they won't be prepared for magic attacks or understand our magic-based communication. We just need to keep being strong."

So monster's were made of magic? And so were there attacks? What else was magic down here? The food? The weather? Who knows.

The next book stated the following: "Being made of magic, monster's are more in tune with their SOULs than humans. If a monster was to lose their will to fight, their stats would show that, and a single blow could take them out, as well as the monster's attacks will weaken.  
Which means we must always be willing to fight. Always."

This was actually pretty handy. If you could find ways to make him not want to fight, you could continue on passed Sans. Continuing on.

"MONSTER HISTORY PART 4  
Our distrust, dislike, and honestly fear of humans had lessened then, and we moved out of the caverns of "Home". Going once again through snow, marsh, and dry heat, a capital was made near the barrier's entryway. This capital was dubbed "New Home".  
I guess naming's hard?"

Well, this was about as handy to you as going to class after missing a few days. You had no idea whatsoever on how to feel with it. Next one.

"Despite how it may feel now, monster SOULs are said to contain and mainly be made of Hope, Compassion, and Love. Even if the SOUL isn't known in absolute, these traits can be found in children and other monsters with low LV."

This also seemed handy: if even someone with high LV like Sans can find compassion in them, then maybe you have a much, much larger chance than you thought.

You stride on back, newfound courage and an increase in determination. Of course, because he was a bit different last time, you ask Papyrus for advice.

"i really wouldn't fight in the first place. but, since you're so insistent i'll tell you that a counterattack is your best bet."

That was definitely different. His tone and words. You kinda shuffled away, wondering if he knew you knew.

The fight with Sans didn't seem to go much differently, either. You got to dodge his first two moves, only to get stabbed in the leg and then in the chest.

You attempt again, and again, and again. You don't ever get to dodge an attack you hadn't already experienced, and sometimes you screw up on those. Walking back towards Sans and pass Papyrus, something majorly different happens.

"honestly, are you done yet?" Papyrus asked, making you jump.

"Excuse me?" You ask him, wondering if you were hearing things.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "i said are you done yet?" He repeats. "Cause I'm getting real tired of reliving these same few minutes over and over."

You didn't quite know what to say. He knew more than you could've expected. He actually remembered as much as you did. Or, at least, as much as you would've in his position.

"why won't you just stay dead if you're not gonna fight?" Him adding that made it click that he even knew that. Did he... watch you and Sans fight? You felt Temmie shift in a way that feels like an agreement to fighting, and it causes you to sneer.

"Well, I'm not going to fight, and I'm not gonna die here where no one's gonna find me." You say, voice laced with anger.

He was surprised that you'd bark back it seemed, cause his face shifted before he laughed.

"you've got some fight in you, but you'd rather use that energy differently?" He flicks away the cigarette butt "alright, how about i give you some real advice then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter was longer than previous ones but I don't know.


	10. Last Sans Fight

You blink a few times. Actual advice? Did he think you'd eventually cave and fight back so he repeated the same thing?

"that blanket you're wearing as a cape, why'd and when did you put it on?"

You can't help but ask him a question in return. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"just answer the question." Is the only reply you get there.

You really don't trust this guy, but you don't see much of a reason to lie either. "I put it on shortly after you left me alone. I just thought it would keep me warm better." Ok, so maybe it was a half-lie.

He huffs out smoke and replies. "so you have no idea what wearing stripes for monsters means, then?"

It meant something? You had no idea. Sure, Temmie said it may protect you more, but he didn't explain why.

"your silence tells me that no, you have no idea." He says, putting the cigarette out and getting closer to show he's serious. "monster children wear stripes. act like a child, make him think you are one, and he won't be able to bring himself to kill you. he's nicer than he seems." He pats your head after that and teleports away.

That, honestly, explained to you why the shopkeeper acted the way she did. Taking a deep breath, you go on, ready to try again with Sans.

"YOU TOOK YOUR TIME, DIDN'T YOU?"

You were already putting your bag to the side, removing a bit of snacks as you went. You took a deep breath before facing Sans again, hoping you actually did have some acting skills.

"I-I hope I'll do ok, mister." You say, trying to sound childish without changing your voice too much.

Sans actually hesitated, but shook it off and lunged forward. You were able to side-step easily.

Time to act. "Wow, I know we're in a fight, but can I just say you look so cool!"

Another hesitation, but still attacks. His attack was slower than before, though. Easy dodge.

You complement him again. His hesitation causes him to miss entirely. You decide to, hopefully, finish this.

"Sir, as fun as this is, I can't really fight too well. Do we have to do this?"

Sans freezes. He puts away his weapon.

He eyes you, and grabs your blanket-cape to drag you down to eye level. He starts scanning your face, which most likely is filled with fear. He lets go, not nearly as violent as before.

"SO YOU ARE A CHILD, THEN." He says matter-of-factly. "I THOUGHT HUMANS WERE SMALLER AS CHILDREN, BUT MAYBE THAT WAS JUST SOMETHING IN ALL THOSE CARTOONS AND SUCH."

Cartoons? There were cartoons down here? They probably were different than what you knew, right?

"WELL THEN! FIGHTING SEEMS WRONG IF YOU ACTUALLY ARE OF STRIPE AGE, SO YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!"

Before you could protest, he had grabbed you by your wrist and began dragging you off to a house. His house.


	11. Skelebro's House

He opens the door with you still firmly in his grasp and pulls you into the house. "MUTT! WE HAVE COMPANY!"

You look around the house since you don't have many options. It's actually quite cozy, and about what you'd expect from two brothers living in the same building. You blink and Papyrus is there.

"yessir, do you want me to make them something as well?"

Sans just nods, letting go of your wrist. "WE HAVE AN EXTRA ROOM AT THE END OF THE HALL UPSTAIRS. YOU'LL BE SLEEPING THERE."

You nod, unsure of what to say. You decide to sit down on the couch, which feels old, but comfortable. As you wonder where they even got all of the furniture, Sans walks upstairs, almost proud.

Papyrus comes in eventually with a plate of the best looking and smelling thing ever, a full meal even, but you're sure that's partially because all you've had to eat down here were snacks and sweets.

You thank him and start to eat. He's just standing there for a bit, then he sits on the couch. Or, more accurately, slouches.

"good job, 'kid'." You could practically hear the air quotes to what he said when he said kid.

You went to make a comment, but a voice from upstairs interrupted your thoughts.

"PAPYRUS! WHERE'S THE EXTRA ONE?"

Papyrus laughed a little, very quietly, before replying "i believe you put it under your bed, sir."

Extra one? You look over at Papyrus, confused as to what extra thing he could've referred to. Papyrus gives a quick smirk before moving some of his coat fluff down.

He was wearing a collar.

Wait.

An... an extra? No. He can't be serious.

Before you had a chance to ask, Sans came back down. "LEAN DOWN." He demanded once in front of you.

You glance back and fourth between the two skeletons, still not fully believing this was happening. Sans grew impatient, however, and pulled you down yet again.

You yelped at the sudden pull and he put his arms around you in a way. He eventually let go and pushed you off.

You didn't even need to check to know that you had a collar on. The sound and weight was enough.

"THERE! NOW NO OTHER MONSTER WILL BE TRYING TO TAKE MY HUMAN!" He then laughs and heads into the kitchen.

You just sit there baffled. How did he think this was ok? You excuse yourself and go into the room the two said you could stay in. You open your bag and pull out Temmie. "Ok, Temmie, now what?"

Temmie didn't respond to you. He just stayed limp and quiet.

What a great time to be sleeping.

"HUMAN!" Sans shouted as he opened the door. "I AM GOING TO CONTINUE MY PATROL! DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE!"

You couldn't identify if that was a threat, a warning, a recommendation, or what. And, quite frankly, you didn't want to chance it yet, seeing how many times you died against that short skeleton.

After a few minutes, Temmie sprung to life. "Skeles haev good hearing! Don talk when others are in teh house!!1!"

Oh, he was pretending to be a regular toy. Ok.

Wait a second.

"What do you mean by that? Are we... alone right now?" You ask Temmie.

"YaYa. I can sense no monster."

This was easy then. Just run out while you're alone and you're free. Unless there was a tracker on the collar, but you could dispose of that later.

As you're running to the door, you have to stop instantly. Were those... attacks? In front of the door were these light red, but not yet pink, bones.

You asked Temmie about them, and Temmie explained that those types of attacks only do damage if you move through them. Meaning you were trapped.

You groan. You only acted like a child to not have to die again, not to get trapped in a house. With nothing better to do, you walk back up into the room you were given.

You needed an escape plan, but what? You were thinking. Hard. Would they be able to see you go out the window? Could you hide in the forest till the searching stopped? Who all would actually look for you? There were a lot of questions in your mind and-

"HEY!"

Temmie's shout brought you back to reality. "Huh?"

"I was saying for you to throw me at the attacks." He said, strangely clear for him.

"But... wouldn't that hurt you?" You ask, deciding now's not a good time to ask about that.

"Nuuu!" Temmie says. "No HP. Take more to hurt a plush."

You guessed that makes sense. He was just an oddly living plush. You pick him up. "Are you sure about this?"

"YaYa. Attacks wil disappear." He says with confidence.

You hesitate, but throw Temmie at the attacks. They break once contact of a moving item hit them. You actually felt excited for a bit.

Until you and Temmie, who had gone limp, were up in the air.

"i didn't realize you had a toy with you. guess my trip to muffet's has to be postponed."

Of course, Papyrus.

You groaned angrily at the tall skeleton. "Can't you just let me leave? You don't want me here!"

"you're right, i don't." Papyrus says, placing you down on the couch and just dropping Temmie. "but my lord does, so here is where you'll stay."

You frown and pout. "How do I convince him to let me leave, then?" You decide to ask because he seems to know a lot about Sans.

"dunno."

You groan. It looks like you'll need an escape plan if you want out of here. But until then, you could use the rest.


	12. To Waterfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You attempt to leave Snowdin

You had hung at the house you were trapped in for a week or two, much to the disappointment of Temmie.

You weren't sure if escape was necessary. In a year Sans would deliver you to the queen, and then you'd need to run for the barrier. It was a sound plan, so why was Temmie so against it?

He wasn't the only one, though. You did record a few quick updates before going to sleep this particular night, and got a visitor in your dream.

"Why do you hang around?" They asked, invisible.

You had grown used to the voice. It was the one you heard giving you advice when Temmie couldn't. But that didn't change the fact that they were pushy.

"You can't stay here."

"Oh? And why not?" You ask them, not really in the mood for this.

"Because they'll kill you the second you resist. They'll kill you if you don't resist at all."

"Then there's no winning!" You shout, prompting the source of the voice to make themself visible again.

"No, you have to surprise everyone."

Surprise everyone? "And how am I supposed to do that?"

"First," the child says as they disappear "you need to get out of Snowdin."

You awake with a start. You aren't sure how much you can trust this strange child, but since they're the only thing besides Temmie helping you, you guess it's best to listen to them and go. But, how?

You look around before deciding your best bet was the window of your room.

You turn you phone on real quick. "Ok, guys, you see this? I have to get down there. I'm gonna do the sheet-ladder thing. Mythbusters proved it works, so that's my goal." You turned off the phone after recording that.

You grab every sheet and blanket in your room, ending the chain with your striped one, and tie the other end to the bed, glad it was so close to the window. You throw it out and climb down carefully but quickly.

Once at the bottom you untie your blanket and run. If you don't run one of the skeletons will catch you. You have to run.

Running through snow wasn't exactly easy for you, but soon it became a familiar ground for you: solid rock.

Well, not fully solid rock, but at least it was normal cave floor.

You slow your pace, not thinking you can't get caught now, but so others can't hear your footsteps.

You hear a voice, startling you. When you turn around you don't see anyone.

Instead you see a glowing blue flower. The bioluminescence made it one of the prettiest flowers you've ever seen. The voice comes again, apparently from the flower.

You inch closer, wanting to know what the flower's saying.

Once close enough, you could make out words, as well as identify the voice.

"you sure you're ready?"

"Of course I'm ready." You said out loud, the flower's message changing to that.

However, right after you said that, you felt something sharp and cold enter your back. And everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter's a little shorter than some others. Hope you enjoyed anyway


	13. More House Arrest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y'gotta get out of the house again ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

You awake in the spare room of the skeletons' house and groan. You didn't get a chance to save when you escaped last time, and Papyrus seems to know when you have to load.

You walk over to the window, open the curtains, and sure enough, there's now red attacks at it.

You groan again, louder this time, and go downstairs.

"good morning, sleepyhead." Papyrus. With food.

You take the food from him grumbling. He probably thought less of you now.

"you know, i'm actually impressed."

Ok, that's not what you expected.

"i knew you were likely to die once you entered Waterfall, but you somehow managed to move and escape in a way neither me nor my lord expected. If you had just found a way to not jump back as far..."

You make sure your groan is loud and audible.

"BE QUIET SOMEONE WILL HEAR YOU!"

Sans' voice startled you, but you remembered how Temmie told you that monsters in Snowdin had really good hearing. Which you guess made sense, most were mammalian. A small few reptilian, and then there were the two you were being held captive by.

You weren't quite sure why the skeletons had good hearing, but they did.

"Why can't you just let me leave?" You ask the two, expecting the usual of 'you just can't' or 'it's too dangerous'.

Instead you get Sans pulling you to eye level and just glaring at you. Very intently.

He then let's go, at a normal rate, and comments. "I JUST DON'T NEED ALPHYS FINDING YOU, THAT'S ALL."

Well, you seem to be getting somewhere. That's a good sign.

"And what if I can avoid her?"

"YOU AREN'T LEAVING AND IT'S THAT SIMPLE!" Sans shouts, clearly hurt and unmoved. You aren't quite sure what you did to hurt the skeleton, but you must've seeing as he stormed off after that.

"whelp, seems he's gotten a liking to you."

"And yet he keeps me trapped." You reply simply, not in the mood for stupidity. That comment made no sense to you.

"he's keeping you safe. after all," Papyrus gives you a knowing look. "i'm not sure how well an unarmored, LV 1 human will do against the head of the royal guard."

Head of The Royal Guard? "And her weapon of choice would be?" You let your morbid curiosity get the better of you.

He smiles a bit. "a battle axe."

You nod, a strange sense of familiar fear rising in you. You excuse yourself and head back to your(?) room.

Can't escape from that window, but maybe from the other rooms?

Once Temmie starts moving, you tell him your plan, and he finds it a good idea. You decide to search.

You check downstairs first, seeing as that would be so much easier than upstairs.

And, as you should've expected, the skeleton thought so as well. Curse that tall jerk.

You head upstairs, curious as to which room to check first. You try the handle on one.

Locked. You didn't quite feel desperate enough to break the door or anything, so you instead tried the other door.

Unlocked. You ignore the one sign saying 'IF YOUR NAME'S NOT SANS OR PAPYRUS, STAY OUT!' and enter the door anyway.

The room is very, very organized. You find it almost hard to believe one could even be this organized. You can't help but notice the attempted layering of books on the lower shelves of the larger bookshelf. Must be Sans' room. He is pretty short, after all.

You ignore the nicknacks and other things because they aren't what you're here for. You're here for a window.

Which you found. Getting closer, you feel a surge of happiness.

It's unblocked, and openable.

You didn't want to waste time this attempt and just jumped for it. It was snow below after all. Uncompacted snow on that.

The land was a little harder than you hoped, but you were outside. You got up quickly and ran. The second you saw a sparkle in the actual cave-like area again, you saved.

You promised yourself to come back at some point and apologize for running off.

But for now you just had to stay DETERMINED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait guys. I'm not even losing motivation I just got a job recently and everything's out of whack. But now I feel more accomplished when I do write and draw so.


	14. Exploring Waterfall

You didn't hang around the save point; it was in the open, and therefore not safe against this 'Alphys'. You found a thing of what you could only assume was grass. Either that or an odd terrestrial seaweed.

As you're going through as stealthily as you can, you hear the voice of someone familiar. A voice you always seem to be hearing.

"CAPTIAN ALPHYS! I'M HERE WITH MY REPORT." There's a bit of a pause before he continued, telling he was having a conversation. With nothing better to do, you listen.

"UNFORTUNATELY, THERE STILL SEEMS TO BE NO HUMANS TO BE FOUND."

"W-WELL, NO. I HAVEN'T TALKED TO ALL OF THE DOGS RECENTLY."

“... WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”

“REALLY? THAT WASN’T REPORTED TO ME.”

“ALRIGHT. I’LL BE MORE OBSERVANT. I APOLOGIZE. IT WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN.”

You wait for quite some time before you move a bit. You only take about three steps before an axe lands right in front of you, barely missing.

It took too much energy and self-restraint to not move again or make a sound. After a few more minutes, you hear footsteps gradually fading, allowing you to breathe.

Once the sound was completely gone you leave the plant cover, and get on the move.

The area of Waterfall was pretty, but also quiet and a bit dark. You practically ran into someone, but whoever it was just gave you a quick “watch it!” And walked off.

As you continued, camera on but you silent, you got the absolute worst reminder that you were recording with a phone. It started going off and you were too nervous to check the call before answering with a hushed “hello?”

“WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU???”

Boy, that’s a voice you didn’t need in your ear. Why is he so loud?

“I’m sorry, Sans, but I had to leave.” Is all you say before he’s instantly replying.

“I ASKED WHERE ARE YOU, NOT WHY DID YOU SNEAK OUT!” You can hear a sigh as he tries to calm down. “MY BOSS KNOWS THERE’S A HUMAN AND IF SHE FINDS YOU YOU’RE DEAD.”

“I know everyone wants my SOUL, but maybe-“

“NO BUT! NO MAYBE! SHE’S THE HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD! SHE WILL KILL YOU!”

You remember when you first made it to Waterfall and shudder. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“YOU BETTER BE! KEEP THE COLLAR ON AND STAY SAFE! I DON’T WANT TO...” there’s a pause before he continues “IF I FIND OUT YOU LET YOURSELF GET KILLED I’LL BE FURIOUS!” With that, he hangs up.

Before you have time to process Temmie pokes his head out of the bag. “Hide!” Is all that comes out.

You look around. There wasn’t anywhere to hide! Except... well, guess this is a great time to see how waterproof your bag is.

You take a deep breath and jump into the water in front of you. You hide down in there for as long as you can, not coming up at all until your lungs are burning.

You come up coughing, more than glad to see nothing there. You pull yourself out of the water.

After wringing out your clothes you get on the move again, wondering how the heck Sans got your number in the first place.

Walking through Waterfall was nice, and you even got to get some cool pics. It was odd, running from giant gelatin monsters and strange flowers, but it seemed running was your only option here.

Eventually, the darkness got worse, and you decided to take advantage of that and sleep in some tall grass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience! I so hope this chapter was at least a little worth the wait.
> 
> Next chapter is when the major warning comes in so be warned of that.


	15. Alphys Attacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, this fic’s going a whole lot longer than I expected. I wonder how much longer...

You’re not entirely sure how far into Waterfall you had gotten. In fact, you felt almost as if you were likely to die from hypothermia or an infection before anything else. You’ve had to do a lot of jumping into water, dodging high-speed axes, and even had to wade through garbage.

“Temmie?” You whisper, phone recording at the moment. “Do you know how close we are to out?”

“Close.” Was his reply. “Almost out.”

You see a save spot and touch it. And shortly after an axe flies at you from above.

“There you are, you sneaky human!” Cries a voice before someone jumps into view.

She was clearly reptilian, possibly a lizard. She’s somewhat and the short side, but not nearly as bad as Sans. The armor she wears seems heavy, making you wonder how she kept up with you so well. She also had a lot of scars on her face.

And she manifested an axe right in front of you, causing you to step back.

“Go ahead, make a move.”

You hesitate, but ultimately try to dart back where you came.

And then your legs stop obeying, and you look down real quick. After all, the last time your body didn’t react properly, your SOUL had an odd color border.

And, like last time, it did. Except this time the color was green, not blue.

“Now you can’t run!” Alphys shouted at you. “You must fight if you wish to live!”

She was right about not running, but you know that there had to be some way to get out of this without fighting. You were ready to dodge and use the stick you had to guard. Even if you weren’t sure how well a stick would work for blocking axes.

Speaking of the axes, she was very quick to materialize another and throw both of them your way.

You side-stepped one, still using the speed you gained from taking on Sans, and managed to block the other, a red and green aura surrounding your stick.

You looked at it in surprise, but smiled at how that worked.

“Hah!” Alphys’ voice made you jump “I knew that was your weapon! Stupid choice, really.”

Before you can retort, an idea flashes in your head. There’s got to be a way to break her concentration just long enough to have the green leave.

“Hey, it’s a lot more effective than it looks.” You say. “And at least it’s not gonna hinder my movement.”

The look in the lizard’s eyes was enough to tell you that you seemed to have made a somewhat stupid decision. She manifested two more axes and threw them.

This time you blocked both of them. The raw energy from them made you flinch. Before you were completely done with those ones, she was already throwing more.

You managed to dodge one, but the other hit, leaving a deep gash in your arm.

As you felt the blood start to seep out and soak your shirt and blanket-cape, Alphys began to laugh.

“Who has bad movement?” She asked in a taunting voice.

Before you could reply, another axe flew at you, you moved, but not quick enough.

You went to try and talk, but all that came out was a choke. You couldn’t breathe. Panic was setting in as you reached down to your neck.

You collapsed dead in your own blood before you could check.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I don’t know if I’ll continue the graphic deaths or not. Thank all of you so much for reading this! You all know about where in the story we are: about halfway! I don’t know how many more chapters there’ll be, but I hope you’re all liking the journey!


	16. Let’s Try Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We continue with our attempts at getting past Alphys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where most, if not all, of the remaining graphic violence will be. Fair warning.

You jolt back to the save right before Alphys found you. And, as expected, the same speech as before was said.

 

You decide this time to try and dart passed her, even before she fully finished telling you to make your move. It must’ve caught her off guard cause you actually got to run, only for Temmie to speak.

 

“No!! Bad direction! Turn around!”

 

You didn’t quite get what Temmie meant, but before you could ask you tripped.

 

And once you were up again you had a green shell around your already partially green SOUL. You cursed under your breath a bit before turning to face Alphys.

 

“Heh, I’ll admit, running towards me was not an expected action, but you still didn’t make it anywhere of importance.”

 

You lost your previous train of thought do to her taunt so, irritated, you respond as your first action. “Alright, fine then lizard! Show me what you’ve got!”

 

It turns out that was a worse thing to say than what you said before, because she threw the axe too quick for you to react.

 

And you didn’t like the sight of it stuck in your chest, blood flowing out slowly.

 

You look back up to see Alphys right in front of you, smirking with a hand on the axe. Despite being shorter than you, you actually felt fear and were greatly intimidated.

 

She spoke as she put her other hand on the handle.

 

“Here. Let me help you.”

 

Before you could say anything or react, she was ripping the axe out of your chest. Blood fountained out of the wound.

 

You awake at the save point again and rush to ask Temmie what he meant.

 

“Lizard guard! Hotland no!” Is all that came out before she showed up again.

 

You don’t even wait for her to speak before you’re running back the way you came.

 

You hear her shouting at you, but ignore it, trying to talk to Temmie.

 

“Alright, Temmie, I need an idea.”

 

“Lizard! Cold!” Is all Temmie says. Before you could ask what he meant, you were halted in your tracks. It appears the lizard is also fast.

 

You turn to face her and brace yourself for her attack, not letting her get an easy hit this time.

 

She nods and grins. “Not gonna say anything I see. Let’s go then.”

 

She threw the axes in the same way as the first time, allowing you to easily block them. The look on Alphys’ face told you that you actually impressed her a bit.

 

You then took your next action. “Please, I don’t want to fight...”

 

Alphys scoffs. “Yeah? And monsters didn’t want to be trapped underground. Not everyone gets what they want.”

 

While her words were harsh, her attacks didn’t come as violently as last time, allowing you to counter them as well.

 

And afterwards you continued, speaking your thoughts as they came. “You can’t blame me for what humans did years ago.”

 

Alphys hesitated for a split second. In that hesitation, the green hold on your SOUL disappeared. She then growled.

 

“It doesn’t matter, we need your SOUL, and we need it now!”

 

She starts attacking again, but forgot about something. As a result you were able to dodge the attacks and dart, continuing your way back to Snowdin.

 

You were glad you noticed a shortcut when you were going through before, you just needed to survive getting there.

 

You hit the edge of a larger, but slower, river, when your SOUL got the green ‘shell’ again.

 

You turn to face the lizard who was pursuing you.

 

“Gotta admit, you’re surprising, but your running ends now.”

 

You don’t hesitate as your gut tells you speaking your mind was the right answer here.

 

“You’re slower than Sans.”

 

That dropped her guard and concentration as fast as you said it. Right as she started to speak again you were removing your blanket-cape, successfully throwing it over the water, and jumping in.

 

Right as you exit the water near the other side an axe barely grazes you, leaving your arm bleeding. But you knew you couldn’t stop now. You grabbed the blanket and ran, retying it on as you went.

 

You weren’t entirely sure why, but you didn’t get grabbed again. Instead you just had moments where you felt you needed to weave and duck.

 

It took next to no time to get to Snowdin, compared to when you got near the end of Waterfall. Thanks to your running speed, you were mostly dry, too.

 

You make sure you’re near Sans’ and Papyrus’ house before you slow down. Alphys has clearly slowed as well.

 

“D-d-don-n’t thi-think a litt-tle co-cold’s g-gonna st-stop me!” She says, clearly trying to shout. A wind blows by, making you subconsciously pull your blanket closer to you.

 

Alphys falls to the ground.

 

You glance at her and, despite both your common sense and Temmie telling you to keep going, to leave her because Sans will get her into warmth, you find yourself stepping closer to her.

 

She looks up at you, anger in her eyes, but also a hint of something else. Something that becomes clear to you what it is when she speaks.

 

“W-w-w-well, yo-you go-gon-gonna fini-ish me o-o-off? B-better do it th-then.”

 

She used the fact she was cold and high up to hide it, but she was scared.

 

You crouch down to where you’re closer to her level. You dip your hand in the snow for a bit and pull it out to then stick in your blanket.

 

Deciding it was good and warm, you take it off and drape it over her back, getting you a strange look. Before she even had a chance to say anything you start to scoop her up to carry her.

 

“Wh-what do yo-you think yo-you’re doing?”

 

“Bringing you to warmth and safety.” You say.

 

You manage to, while stumbling a bit, get to the skeletons’ house.

 

You pause for a bit, remembering that the last time you were here, you had snuck into Sans’ room and out his window.

 

You didn’t pause for too long and knock on the door. It flies open and the skeleton smaller than you opens the door.

 

“WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? WAIT.” He notices Alphys after he went to scold you. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH HER???”

 

You walked in. “She needs warmth, and rest.” You say. You look into Sans’ eyesockets.

 

He grabs her a bit, helping you bring her to the couch.

 

There’s a pause and a suffocating air for a moment. When someone speaks, it’s Sans in a voice quieter than usual.

 

“You’re not actually a kid, are you?”

 

You shake your head, and he sighs. “I should’ve guessed, with your height and awareness and everything...”

 

You went to apologize, but Sans put his hand up to silence you. “Look, I get you wanna keep going, Papyrus made it clear to me you won’t stop, so can you tell me something?”

 

“What?” You ask simply.

 

“Do you actually have a reason to leave? When you get to...” he paused, like he felt if he said the wrong thing he’d be punished. “When you get to the capital you will be killed.”

 

You spoke with what you felt was certainty. “I don’t think that’s the case, Sans.”

 

“BULLSHIT!” He shouted, standing up. “I WORK fOR THE QUEEN! I’M SECOND IN COMMAND OF THE ROYAL GUARD! I KNOW FIRSTHAND HOW DANGEROUS IT IS!”

 

You sit there staring at him. A small bit of... liquid matching the color of the lighting in his eyes formed. Was he... crying?

 

“Why do you care?” You end up asking him.

 

His eye lights seem to widen as he starts to try and think of excuses. “I-I DON’T! I DON’T C- I MEAN, IT’S JUST... BUT YOU SEE... I CA-“ a sigh leaves before he answers honestly. “I DON’T KNOW. I JUST FEEL AS IF YOU SHOULDN’T BE DYING.”

 

The words were touching, and you found yourself hugging the usually heavily armored skeleton.

 

“I promise you, I’ll be ok.”

 

He was hesitant, but hugged you back.

 

“YOU BETTER BE...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s this? The next chapter?
> 
> I promise all of you I won’t abandon this fic, I’ve just had a rough time focusing on anything recently. I apologize. Hope this was worth the wait at least.


End file.
